31 in 31

In this time of reflection, I'm also looking ahead. Funny thing about 2010, though. Besides a couple of races – Shamrock Half and the Richmond Marathon – it seems like I'm setting myself up for a disappointment. I don't doubt that these races will bring me much satisfaction, but the time has come to do something different when it comes to my goals. I can't base my goals on miles or race times alone – I need more than that.
So that's why in January I will start my own exercise program to get the year kicked off right – "31 in 31." If you know me well, you’ll know that "31 in 31" was the name of a blog series I helped create in my former job, so I'm stealing my work idea and using it personally.

The idea behind "31 in 31" will be to do a different form of exercising for all 31 days in January. My thought for this is to introduce (or reintroduce) different exercises to do what many people do for a new year – a recommitment to my overall health and to jump start what I hope will be some weight loss.

This will range from the obvious – running will count as an exercise for Jan. 1 – to some things I haven't done for years, such as jumping jacks. This doesn't mean I'll only run for one day out of the month or do 1,000 jumping jacks one day – a new exercise is simply meant to discover something new and to keep me active. This, I hope, will get me back into the 100 push-ups program or to start the 200 sit-ups challenge. And this will not be an overly complicated program – I'm just picking something, doing it and adding it to part of what will be regular training for the Shamrock Half. (If this sounds confusing, please pose any questions in the comments section below.) If something this basic works well, then look for a more intense version of "31 in 31" later in the year.